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His theory was realised 30 years later in 2017 when both gravitational and electromagnetic waves were detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), whose creators won a Nobel Prize.

Professor Schutz will receive the award, named after English astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington, who made the first empirical test of Einstein's theory, at the National Astronomy Meeting at Lancaster University in July.

The prestigious award has previously been awarded to the most famed and influential physicist of the 20th-century - the late Sir Stephen Hawking (pictured)

He said: 'The medal is more than a recognition of work done 30 years ago.

'The pleasure of achieving this recognition is a reward for having dedicated much of my career to reaching the goal of opening the field of gravitational wave astronomy.

'Receiving the medal 100 years after Eddington himself provided crucial proof of the validity of Einstein's theory makes it a special honour indeed.'

He added: 'The observations we have made so far are just the beginning.

'As detectors improve, and as we go into space with the European Space Agency's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna mission, we will use this tool to answer many questions about the history of the universe.'

WHAT DID STEPHEN HAWKING BELIEVE ABOUT DEATH?

Professor Stephen Hawking had one of the most remarkable brains of the past century.

The British physicist applied his mind to confront the questions that surrounded the Big Bang, black holes and string theory.

As well as the most complex and challenging questions in quantum mechanics, Hawking also confronted the challenge of death.

After being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21, he lived with the debilitating illness for 55 years.

With an initial diagnosis of two years left to live, Hawking defied all odds.

He lived with the prospect of an early death for decades - and it made him confront its dark realities head on.

In a 2011 interview with The Guardian, Professor Hawking said: 'I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.'

With such a philosophical approach to life and possessing one of the most analytical minds the world has ever seen, Professor Hawking was inspirational in his strength.

One of the most brilliant minds of all-time, and the leading scholar on the topic of black holes, Professor Stephen Hawking (pictured) believed that life after death was a myth

For many, the comfort of an after life is something which offers reassurance approaching death.

Hawking, however, saw death very differently.

Although the man inspired millions through his books, lectures, theories and the recent biopic about his life, Professor Hawking did not believe in life after death.

In the same 2011 interview, he said: 'I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail.

'There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.'

In the case of Professor Hawking, he believed that living your best life was more important than hoping for a heaven.

'We should seek the greatest value of our action,' he said, when asked how we should live.

Arguably the person who understood the foundation of the universe better than anyone, it offered a unique perspective to him.

'Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in,' he said.

Hawking was a long-time critic of the idea of a deity and religions.

He believed that it was natural for people to believe in an all-powerful God before science offered an explanation.

In his opinion, science now offered a clearer and more thorough explanation than faith.